


Chance Encounters

by cordeliadelayne



Series: Snupin Santa [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, F/M, Getting Together, M/M, Prostitution, librarian!Lupin, prostitute!Snape
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-07
Updated: 2015-09-07
Packaged: 2018-04-19 15:15:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4751078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cordeliadelayne/pseuds/cordeliadelayne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In Muggle England Lupin is working part-time in a library and occasionally baby-sitting for his friends the Potters and Snape is working the streets.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chance Encounters

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Morbid_lizard](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morbid_lizard/gifts).



> Written as a snupin_santa gift for morbid_lizard who requested a non-magical au where Snape was a prostitute. Originally posted to snupin_santa in 2007.

Lily Potter cradled a one year old Harry against her chest and tried to warm some milk and berate Remus Lupin at the same time. It was quite a feat of multi-tasking ingenuity and Remus would have been amused if her diatribe were directed at any one other than himself. Instead he just felt defeated. This was the same old argument she trotted out every time he came around to visit his best friends. Was a bit of tea and sympathy really too much to ask? 

“And don’t you go feeling sorry for yourself, Remus,” Lily snapped, uncomfortably reading her friend’s mind, “if you were a little more proactive with your sex life, none of this would be happening”. 

“Should you be saying s-e-x in front of Harry?” Remus asked weakly, trying to deflect attention from his reddening face. 

“The boy’s going to be a footballer, Remus, not a spelling-whiz,” James replied, sauntering into the kitchen in his muddied football kit. 

“He’ll be whatever he wants James, now don’t tread any more mud in here, go, shoo!” Lily waved him out of the room with a smile as James mock-protested. 

“Looks like he had a good game,” Remus offered. 

“Don’t change the subject.”

“I don’t know why you’re so concerned about this….”

“Because we care about you, Remus. We want to see you happy. And any one who’s seen you lately can see that you need a woman to sort you out.” Lily narrowed her eyes. “Or a man.”

Remus began furiously thinking of a way to change the subject. “Um…”

“Huh. Okay, so how about a gay club? There’s a couple here I’ve heard about.”

“A…gay….club. I don’t… I mean, I’m not…”

“Remus, James and I don’t care who you sleep with….”

“As long as you stop moping about it,” James added as he strutted back into the room, barefoot and wearing jeans and a t-shirt. 

“I don’t mope,” Remus muttered, even as the spark of jealousy flickered in his stomach at the look of adoration James gave Lily before kissing her and then their son. 

“You do too. Look, Sirius is on baby-sitting duty tonight; how about we hit a club? Lily and me could do with the break from junior here and we’ll try and find you someone. Maybe a quick blow-job in the toilets, eh?” James winked to show he was joking, or at least that was how Remus chose to decipher the action. 

“I don’t want a quick…sex. I want to find someone to spend my life with. And I don’t think…”

“Fine. Then we’ll find you the love of your life. But you’re not going to do that sitting in our kitchen. Or at the library.” James shuddered. 

“There are plenty of interesting people at the library.”

“Have you asked any of them out?”

“…No.”

“Well then.”

“That’s not a…I’m not…you can’t…”

“Face it Remus, there’s no point arguing with James when he gets like this,” Lily said. “Just come out with us? Please?”

“Okay. But I’m not going to enjoy myself.”

“Glad we’ve got that sorted then,” James laughed, taking hold of Harry and spinning him around. 

+++ 

Remus stood in front of the mirror, a bag of nerves. He couldn’t believe he was letting Lily and James talk him into this and even as he applied the finishing touches to his outfit he was trying to find a way out of it. 

“Two minutes!” Lily yelled up the stairs. 

“Oh god,” Remus murmured to his reflection. “What are you staring at?” He tried to look at himself like a potential admirer would. He was reasonably handsome he supposed, at least he wasn’t hideous. He was trim and his tight jeans did accentuate his assets nicely. His red shirt complimented his skin tone – at least according to Lily – and if he didn’t look so miserable about it all he could suppose he would pick up himself. If he did that kind of thing. “What was I thinking letting them know I like men?” he asked his reflection again, willing it to answer. But no luck. 

“Come on, Remus,” James said, poking his head around the door. “Stare at it much longer and it’ll crack.”

“Hilarious,” Remus muttered, but dutifully followed his friends outside and to the waiting taxi. 

+++

The club was packed with sweaty bodies as Remus and the Potters weaved their way to the bar. James ordered them all pints and then propelled them to the balcony so they could look down at the dancers. The music wasn’t too bad, but it wasn’t the sort of thing Remus would ordinarily choose to dance to and the clientele looked far too young for him. 

“How about that one?” James asked, poking Remus in the ribs. “Blondes your thing?”

Remus found himself blushing furiously. “Hmm.” He looked over to where James was pointing. The boy, he could only have been about 16, had spiky blonde hair and was wearing an obscenely see-through top and trousers. “I prefer dark hair,” he found himself declaring. 

“All right, how about…him?”

This time James had signalled out someone with short, barely there brown hair, wearing a black trenchcoat even though the heat was already making Remus’ shirt stick to his back. 

“I don’t think so.”

“All right, how about...”

“James, give the man a chance to have a look for himself.” Remus had never been so glad to have Lily as a friend. “Why don’t you go and join some of the dancers?” Then again…

“Well I don’t really…”

“Go on mate, we’ll save your beer for you.”

“I…” But before Remus could make more than a token protest he found himself awkwardly standing at the edge of the dance floor. 

Closing his eyes and praying for death didn’t help so instead he began to tentatively sway to the music. When he was alone he fancied himself as something of a good dancer, but here he was so awkward as to be barely co-ordinated. Thankfully someone took pity on him. 

“Would you like to dance?” asked a tall and somewhat imposing young man, with strangely coloured eyes. 

“Um, sure,” Remus replied, more out of a desire to appear competent in front of Lily and James than any attraction to the man. 

He found himself led to the middle of the dance floor and was soon entangled by sweaty arms as the man pushed him around the dance floor. Eventually they found a rhythm that seemed to work and Remus began to tell himself that he was enjoying it. 

“So, what’s your name?” 

“Remus. Remus Lupin.”

“Well, Remus Lupin, I’m Tom Riddle.” 

Tom’s hands moved down to cup Remus’ arse and he had to remember that squeaking wasn’t the appropriate response. As a disconcertingly large erection was pushed into his leg he began to truly feel out of his depth. 

“Um…”

Tom ignored his apparent discomfort and with each beat of the music he began to press Remus closer to him. Remus tried to push back and away but that only seemed to heighten Tom’s pleasure. 

“Look, you seem like a nice bloke…”

“Are you enjoying this? Oh, I am…” And Tom started thrusting in earnest now, his hands moving up from fondling Remus’ arse to start pulling at his shirt. 

“All right, that’s enough,” Remus snapped, pushing himself away harder. Tom’s eyes snapped open. 

“What? You’re the one who wanted it!”

“I did not. Now get your hands off me!”

“Cock-tease,” Tom spat as he pushed Remus away from him. 

“Oh my god,” Remus muttered. “This is the last time I do anything Lily and James say.”

He walked over to where his two friends were dancing and smiled despite himself. They did seem happy and one day he was sure there would be somewhere out there for him. But not here. 

“Look, I’m going to go,” Remus shouted over the music. 

“What? But it’s early yet.”

“Yeah, well I just don’t feel comfortable here.”

“We’ll go back with you,” Lily offered.

“No, no, don’t do that. I’ll be fine. You enjoy yourselves. Really, you deserve one night off from Harry. I’ll be fine.”

“Well, if you’re sure?”

“Of course. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Remus headed off before they could offer any more objections. Maybe a walk and a bit of fresh air would help. So instead of turning to the right to the taxi rank he headed off to the left, deciding to take the long way home. Of course, what he’d forgotten was this route wasn’t used much at night for a reason. But since none of the prostitutes were bothering him he wasn’t too concerned. Until he turned the corner and walked straight into the middle of a rather heated argument. 

“Thirty quid for a blowjob, you’ve got to be kidding me!”

“Those are my rates. If you don’t like them you don’t have to stay here.”

“I could get a blowjob for free in any club round here!”

“Not with that face you couldn’t.” 

Remus’ gasp drew both men’s attention to him. The customer decided to cut his losses and began to storm away while the prostitute eyed Remus critically. Remus looked straight into his eyes and felt his cock stirring. He’d never had such an immediate desire for anyone before. He couldn’t really explain it. The man was certainly dressed provocatively, with leather trousers that left nothing to the imagination and a tight white shirt that revealed a well-defined torso. His nose was slightly too big and his hair wasn’t very clean, but his dark eyes were mesmerising and he had a presence which the men in the club had simply lacked. 

The man stared at Remus for another second and then turned away, searching the street for another punter. “Like what you see?” he asked a man crawling along in his car. 

“What about me?” Remus asked. 

“You couldn’t afford me,” the man sneered. 

“I could.”

“Really?” The man gave him another probing look. “Tenner for a hand job, thirty quid for a blow, fifty for a fuck, hundred for all night.”

Remus gulped. That was an awful lot of money for a part-time librarian. “That seems like a lot.”

“Been with many men have you?” The other man had the unnerving knack of making Remus feel about five years old. 

“I…”

“That’s my rate. Take it or leave it.”

“All right. All night then.”

The man raised an eyebrow. “Cash up front.”

“Okay. I’ll have to stop off at a cash point, though.” 

Clearly not believing a word the man nodded and waved for Remus to lead the way. They reached the cash machine and Remus nervously retrieved and then handed over the money. The man examined it then pulled out an envelope which already had an address written on it, sealed it, and put it in the nearest post-box. “No refunds.”

“Right.”

“Do you live far from here?”

“No, no it’s just, up this road. A little flat. I live with myself. It’s quite small really. Tiny even.”

“Do you always babble this much before sex?”

“What? No, I’m a little…nervous. I’ve never picked up a ho…anyone before.”

“Jesus. You’re not a virgin are you? Cause I charge double for them.”

“No I’m not,” Remus replied indignantly. But that was mainly thanks to James’ friend Sirius; not that James knew that. 

“If you say so.”

“Here we are,” Remus replied brightly, opening the door and ushering the other man in. “Hallway, kitchen, living room…”

“Where’s the bedroom?”

“Oh, right, it’s just through here.” It was a fairly plain room, with a bed, side table, and lots of bookcases but the pillow cushions and rug Lily had made for him gave it a homely air. 

“I don’t kiss.”

“What?”

“I said I don’t kiss,” the other man enunciated, “not on the lips. I can top or bottom. Do you have a preference?”

“Um, I…no?”

The man rolled his eyes. “Where do you want me?”

“Oh, um, do you want a drink or anything? Maybe we could, talk a bit first.”

“Talk?”

“It’s my money. And we’ve got all night, right?”

The man eyed him speculatively and sat down on the bed. “Coffee. Black. No sugar.”

Remus nodded quickly, happy to have something to do at last. “I’ll be right back. Make yourself comfortable.”

The other man nodded warily as Remus hurried to the kitchen and put the kettle on. 

“Oh my god. Oh my god. What have I done? I can’t have sex with him? I’ve paid him. What, what am I doing? Oh god. Oh god. Breathe Remus. Breathe.” Remus grabbed hold of the kitchen table and started panting. Any minute now and he’d have a full-blown panic attack. 

As the kettle boiled Remus regained a bit of his composure. “Come on. You can do this. He’s got to have sex with you, he’s paid you, it doesn’t matter if he likes you or not.” But as Remus made himself a cup of milky tea he knew that that wasn’t true. He no more wanted anonymous sex now than he had earlier. 

He’d decided that he would just pluck up the courage to tell the man to leave when he walked back into his bedroom and found the other man curled up on his bed reading a text book. He looked up guiltily when Remus arrived and tried to shove the book out of sight. 

“It’s all right, I told you to get comfortable. What is it you’re reading?”

Reluctantly the man showed Remus the front cover. Clarke’s Guide To Chemical Concoctions.

“That’s an interesting choice. Are you interested in chemistry?”

The man shrugged and took the drink Remus offered him. “You have a lot of books.” He sounded almost envious. 

“I work in a library. I often get given extra copies. Don’t have much use for that though, if you want to keep it?

“I can buy my own books,” the man snapped, pushing the book away from him and onto the floor. “Do you want to have sex or just talk all night?”

Remus couldn’t help it, he was getting intrigued. “I thought just talk, actually.”

“I told you, no refunds.” 

“I know that. You can keep the money. I just…would like to get to know you a bit first.”

“Get to know me? You’re nuts.”

“Probably. My name’s Remus Lupin, what’s yours?”

“Severus Snape.”

“That’s a nice name.”

“No it’s not.”

Remus took a sip of his drink to cover the awkward silence. 

“Have you been…”

“A whore long?” Snape asked, eyes glittering menacingly. 

“I was going to ask if you’d been in London long,” Remus replied, amused despite himself. There was something in the way that Severus’ eyes fired up that was doing very interesting things to Remus’ insides. 

“Some years.”

“Oh. Me too. I went to school in Scotland.”

Snape cocked his head to one side. “As did I.”

“Really? I loved it up there. So much space. Not like down here in London.”

“No, London is a lot seedier. But this is where the money is.”

“Is that why you’re…”

“It pays the bills.”

“Right. Yes. Do you enjoy your work?”

“It pays the bills,” Snape repeated, an eyebrow raised. He finished his drink and put the mug down on the bedside table. “Shall we start?”

“You’re awfully keen.”

“Don’t you want to?” And Remus thought there was a flicker of hurt in Snape’s eyes before he turned professional once more. “There are no refunds. Ever.”

“Look, I’m not…I’m not used to,” he sighed. “Can we just sleep?” He looked up hopefully at the other man. His palms were sweaty and his heart was beating fast and god help him but he was hard. 

“Sleep?” Snape replied as if the word were foreign to him. “Just…sleep?”

“If that’s all right. I mean, it’s still the whole night, right?” Remus nervously wiped his hands on his trousers. 

“Very well. Naked or clothed?”

Remus’ mind went completely blank. “Um. Clothed?”

Snape inclined his head and in one swift motion had settled himself on top of the bed, his arms crossed across his chest like a corpse. Remus carefully lay down next to the other man and curled up into a ball, careful not to dislodge his guest. Wishing his erection away he eventually drifted into a fitful sleep.

When he woke up the next morning, Snape was gone. 

++++

Remus refused to admit to himself that he was disappointed at the lack of the other man next to him. Instead he was happy. That was right, happy that he didn’t have to face any awkward questions. God knows what he was going to tell Lily and James about last night. 

As he sat drinking the first of his morning coffees he browsed his bookshelves and began rearranging them. 

Looking all around on the floor and by the bed he found the book that Snape was reading last night. He picked it up and flicked through the pages, remembering the way Snape’s long fingers had held this book, how they grasped hold of his drink…

Remus sat down heavily on his bed. This could not be happening. He barely knew the man. He’d never see him again. He slept with men for money for god’s sake. 

Oh. Oh dear. 

Remus decided that work was the best thing for him so he hurriedly got dressed and left and for the rest of the day plunged himself into sorting out books and running around after a group of children doing a history project. 

On his way home, so weary he could barely see straight it was simply his lack of concentration that led him to the street where Snape worked. Lupin wasn’t even sure that Snape would be working this early. “What are you thinking?” he murmured to himself. 

“If I had known you were crazy I wouldn’t have gone home with you,” a silky voice remarked from Lupin’s left. He turned quickly to see Snape leaning nonchalantly against the wall. 

“Oh, hi,” Lupin responded, shifting the books in his arms slightly. 

“I’m working.”

“Oh. Um…okay.” Lupin blushed furiously. 

Snape stared hard at him. “If you aren’t paying I need to find a customer.”

“Um…”

“Money or go,” Snape snapped, pushing himself off the wall and closer to Lupin. Snape’s breath ghosted against Lupin’s cheek and he knew he must look ridiculous, his mouth half open and his palms sweating so much that at any moment he would drop his load. 

“Come home with me.”

Snape raised an eyebrow. “And will this involve actual sex or more sleeping?”

“Does it matter as long as you’re getting paid?”

Snape frowned. “No, it doesn’t matter. Cash…”

“…upfront. Yes, I remember. We could pick up some fish and chips on the way home?”

“…That would be acceptable.”

Lupin smiled brightly, then tried to look serious. He was walking through town with a prostitute, someone who was very obviously dressed like a prostitute. 

“I know of a short cut, if that would ease your discomfort,” Snape sneered angrily. 

“I…that won’t be…oh god, yes please, short cut, now…” and Lupin grabbed a startled Snape by the arm and pulled him into an alley just as the Potters rounded a corner. Unfortunately Lupin hadn’t noticed that this was a dead end, and there was no where for them to go. 

“What exactly are you…” Snape began to ask, loudly. So loudly that Lupin knew he would be found out. Unless…not thinking about it seemed like a really good idea as he pulled Snape closer to him and kissed him, hot and hard, devouring his mouth and tongue and pulling needily at his waist until Snape melted up against him. Precious seconds were lost to the taste of Snape and the way he nestled so tightly up against him, erection obvious and flattering. And then they were pulling apart and Remus was breathing so deeply that he wondered if this was what dying was like. 

Snape stepped out of his personal space and eyed him critically. “I forgot, I have an appointment I have to keep.” And with a sudden turn he was swooping out of the alleyway, leaving a dejected Remus in his wake. 

++++

It was two days before Remus could face going back to the alley where Snape worked, but he felt like he should apologise. He knew that Snape didn’t like kissing, so that must be the problem. It had seemed like he’d been enjoying himself, but maybe he was so good at his job that the reaction was automatic. Maybe he’d been so disgusted by Remus that he….but Remus refused to finish that thought, instead striding purposefully to Snape’s usual haunt. 

He stood on the corner, jacket pulled close about him to protect him from the wind. He could see Snape clearly from this spot, watched him as cars pulled up to him and the drivers were dismissed until one tall man with long blonde hair apparently caught his eye. They disappeared down an alley and Remus followed them at a safe distance, unsure exactly why he was behaving like this. Stalking wasn’t his usual method of getting dates. 

Peering around the corner he saw Snape down on his knees, the man’s cock in his mouth. The blonde man didn’t last long and was soon coming in Snape’s mouth. Snape stood up with a frown and looked around, spotting Remus immediately. His frown deepened and Remus hurried away before he could say anything. 

++++

The next day, not sure of what force was driving him, he once again found himself wandering the street where Snape worked. This was ridiculous. Completely ridiculous. There wasn’t a word for how ridiculous this situation was and yet he was still doing it. He was completely smitten. And he had no idea why, there was just something that drew him to the other man. They’d barely had a conversation but that kiss, he couldn’t stop thinking about that kiss. Surely Snape had felt the same way? Hadn’t he?

Turning the by now familiar corner he watched in awe as Snape paraded around in extremely tight fitting clothes, eyeing up potential clients. Lupin found that he liked watching Snape work, could imagine all that focused attention directed at him. God, he was getting hard just thinking about it. Then Snape lifted his head and their eyes met. Neither moved for a moment and then Snape turned his back on Lupin, who knew better than to approach the other man.

+++++

The next day Remus avoided the route on his way home that would lead past Snape, and that evening he avoided talking to Lily, claiming that he had the flu and didn’t want to pass it on to Harry. Then the day after he avoided work and sat in his living room pretending to read and not thinking about Snape. This lasted all of half an hour before there was a pounding on his front door and he was forced to stop moping and move. 

Opening the door he was thrust backwards into the hallway and fell down on his arse. “What the…” But before he could say anything more the man, who he suddenly recognised as Snape, was kissing him. Hard. 

The door swung closed with a click but Remus was paying more attention to the tongue being rammed down his throat than to what the neighbours might have seen. Scrabbling for breath he pushed Snape slightly away from him.

“What are you doing?” he gasped as Snape moved to lick at his neck. 

“Do you want me to stop?”

“Not really, but am I…are you…?”

“Consider this a freebie,” Snape replied before firmly shutting the other man up with his mouth. Remus’ brain completely short-circuited at this point so it was several minutes before he realised that Snape had removed his shirt and was having some difficulty with the buckle on his belt. 

“Let me,” Remus panted and shivered as Snape raked approving eyes over his slim form. “You…you too.” Snape’s almost feral grin surprised Remus yet he couldn’t take his eyes off him as he stripped completely naked. In his hallway. Oh. “Oh, I have a bedroom.” Snape stared at him. “It has a bed in it…comfortable bed…um…”

Snape stood up and helped Remus to his feet. “Is this any way to treat a guest?”

Remus’ brain took a moment to catch up with the conversation. “Oh, yes, it’s this way. Oh, well, you’ve been here before, I mean…”

“Are you this much of a talker during the act, or do you consider this foreplay?”

Remus glanced to the other man as he opened the door to the bedroom. It was hard to tell whether he was joking or being sarcastic. But it didn’t really matter because finally his hormones took over and he was pushing Snape onto the bed and eagerly straddling him. 

“That’s more like it,” Snape groaned as Remus began stroking Snape’s cock. Then he was leaning down and sucking at Snape’s neck and Snape was bucking up into him. “You really aren’t a virgin,” he murmured in wonder. 

“I told you I wasn’t,” Remus pouted, briefly stopping what he was doing. 

“Then why…why just sleep?”

“I’m shy?” Truth was, Remus wasn’t sure himself, just that he didn’t want to pay for sex and that he couldn’t get the man currently writhing underneath him out of his mind.

“Shy? Doesn’t feel like your shy.” 

Remus smiled. “We can talk about it later.”

Snape nodded. “Much later.” Then he was flipping Remus over so he was on his back instead. “Once I’ve fucked you.” Remus shuddered from head to toe. Oh god yes. 

“Under the pillow,” he panted as Snape found a particularly sensitive spot just below his nipple and raked his tongue across it. Snape caught on quickly and found the lube – with a raised eyebrow – and began to liberally coat his cock, seeming to enjoy the fact that Remus couldn’t take his eyes off of him. Then he grabbed the pillow and raised Remus’ arse up with it, adjusting it several times before he was satisfied. Then he began the agonisingly slow process of preparing the librarian. 

First one finger, then another, each one making Remus’ toes curls. He wouldn’t last much longer at this rate, but he didn’t want to come without Snape being inside him first. “Please,” he begged and that seemed to be all Snape was waiting for as with one fluid movement he was pushing himself past Remus’ defences and breaking him into two. 

“So good,” Snape murmured, planting distracted kisses on Remus’ face as he began to move, harder and faster, matching the tempo of Remus’ murmuring's as he pleaded for the other man to fuck him into the mattress. “So beautiful.” Remus’ heart fluttered but he’d lost the power of speech when Snape found that spot and before he knew it he was whole again and coming so hard that his spasms sent Snape over the edge. 

Minutes later as Snape was cleaning them both up with a cloth he’d found in the bathroom, Remus was trying to gain the courage to ask the other man to stay. He’d just about managed to work out what he was going to say when Snape slipped under the covers and motioned for Remus to do the same. 

“You’re staying?” Remus asked, realising belatedly that that was the last thing he should have said judging by the resigned look on Snape’s face. 

“Apparently not…”

“No, no,” Remus said grabbing Snape’s arm. “Sorry, that didn’t come out right. Really. I just. I really want you to stay. Really.”

“Really?” Snape replied, a smile ghosting his lips. 

“Yes. Really.” Remus blushed.

“So, you babble before, during and after sex. Interesting.”

“I can work on that, if you like. For, you know, the future.”

“No need.” Remus’ expression froze. Snape leaned towards him, mouth near his ear. “I found it quite a turn on.” And then he was pushing Remus back and kissing him. Remus started kissing back immediately, enjoying the feel of the other man’s lips against his own. 

“We should probably talk,” Remus sighed against the other man’s lips. 

“You really do like talking, don’t you?”

“I just meant…” he stopped as Snape began licking his way down his chest. “Talk in the morning, excellent idea….” He squeezed his eyes shut as Snape began nibbling at his thigh near his already hardening cock. If he survived to the morning that is.


End file.
